Chinatown, Portland, Maine

Congress Street was once the center of a "vibrant" Chinatown

Chinatown in the U.S. city of Portland, Maine once existed around Monument Square and traversed mostly on Congress Street. The first Chinese person arrived in 1858 with the Chinatown forming around 1916 until around 1953. The last vestiges of Chinatown lingered until 1997 when the last Chinese laundry closed. By that time, urban renewal already claimed all of the remaining buildings.^[1]

History

Portland's Chinatown existed modestly with most Chinese being isolated due to discriminate and the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. By 1895, there were enough Chinese people that a Chinese community began to form, though mostly with men whose wives were prohibited from migration due the newly created law. The first Chinese restaurant opened in 1880 at 1 Custom Wharf House at the time the city only had nine Chinese men.^[2] The community celebrated their first Chinese New Year on October 8, 1884.^[2] By 1920, around 30 Chinese laundries existed in the city. In 1903, a laundromat union of 100 Chinese owners formed to fix prices. By around the 1950s, the Chinese community had shrunk to the point that Chinatown almost ceased to exist. By 1997, the last laundry was demolished wiping out the last remaining vestige of Chinatown.^[3] Most Chinese men who lived in Chinatown attended a Chinese church with some going to China as missionaries.^[1]

References

1. "CAFAM Maine: Portland Chinese-American History Walking Tour".
2. "Historical notes on Chinese restaurants in Portland, Maine".
3. "Maine Online: Chinese history".